TY - JOUR
T1 - Coarse-grained model of the J-integral of carbon nanotube reinforced polymer composites
AU - Arash, Behrouz
AU - Park, Harold S.
AU - Rabczuk, Timon
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank the support of the European Research Council -Consolidator Grant (ERC-CoG), 615132 under grant “Computational Modeling and Design of Lithium-ion Batteries (COMBAT)”.
PY - 2016/1
Y1 - 2016/1
N2 - The J-integral is recognized as a fundamental parameter in fracture mechanics that characterizes the inherent resistance of materials to crack growth. However, the conventional methods to calculate the J-integral, which require knowledge of the exact position of a crack tip and the continuum fields around it, are unable to precisely measure the J-integral of polymer composites at the nanoscale. This work aims to propose an effective calculation method based on coarse-grained (CG) simulations for predicting the J-integral of carbon nanotube (CNT)/polymer composites. In the proposed approach, the J-integral is determined from the load displacement curve of a single specimen. The distinguishing feature of the method is the calculation of J-integral without need of information about the crack tip, which makes it applicable to complex polymer systems. The effects of the CNT weight fraction and covalent cross-links between the polymer matrix and nanotubes, and polymer chains on the fracture behavior of the composites are studied in detail. The dependence of the J-integral on the crack length and the size of representative volume element (RVE) is also explored.
AB - The J-integral is recognized as a fundamental parameter in fracture mechanics that characterizes the inherent resistance of materials to crack growth. However, the conventional methods to calculate the J-integral, which require knowledge of the exact position of a crack tip and the continuum fields around it, are unable to precisely measure the J-integral of polymer composites at the nanoscale. This work aims to propose an effective calculation method based on coarse-grained (CG) simulations for predicting the J-integral of carbon nanotube (CNT)/polymer composites. In the proposed approach, the J-integral is determined from the load displacement curve of a single specimen. The distinguishing feature of the method is the calculation of J-integral without need of information about the crack tip, which makes it applicable to complex polymer systems. The effects of the CNT weight fraction and covalent cross-links between the polymer matrix and nanotubes, and polymer chains on the fracture behavior of the composites are studied in detail. The dependence of the J-integral on the crack length and the size of representative volume element (RVE) is also explored.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.carbon.2015.10.058
DO - 10.1016/j.carbon.2015.10.058
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84947998121
SN - 0008-6223
VL - 96
SP - 1084
EP - 1092
JO - Carbon
JF - Carbon
ER -